For decades, I have been creating little paintings or doodles of coffee and or teacups. They started out so organically as a way to loosen up my brush strokes when I was painting something complicated like a human being. The doodles evolved into a massive body of work that always left me asking, "What are these things and where are they coming from?" They just kept coming! I kept painting them.

Community and compassion. Those two words became the foundation for these cup paintings. In the beginning, I would sit for hours in coffee shops around Florida and paint. If I heard of someone having a bad day I would give them a painting. I would also blog about the experience. As my blog went out into the world, people would contact me, to inquire about acquiring a painting. I always responded, but being compassionate did not always come easy. I, as a human, grappled with taking one of my creations and just handing it over to a complete stranger. I put several hours of my time and energy into these paintings and in some cases, because of pride, I simply didn't want to GIVE them away! What if my creation ended up in a garbage can or worse, a garage sale!? This is when I would hear God speaking to me about the Fruit of the Spirit in Galatians 5.God was revealing to me that my pride was causing me to not share the gift and talent that he had given me.

I believe God breathed life into these paintings and I believe it is his direction leading me to and through the creative process. Each painting was painted with love, pain, sadness, happiness, struggle and frustration. They have found homes all around the world-- from North Africa to Cuba to Mexico and all across this beautiful country. They are meant to brighten someone's day, to uplift and to encourage.

Each one of these paintings picked its current owners. At least that is the way it usually happens. I hope you enjoy this little book, read some of God's words, write in it, paint in it, create with it and share it with friends and family.